Bailey
by Snavej
Summary: Madoka loves her cat, Bailey, even when he gets stuck up a tree very much out of her reach... [Lindoka one shot]


**Prompt: You rescued my cat from a tree, but you also feel out the tree afterwards. I'm so sorry this is all my fault, are you okay? You're still cute though?**

* * *

"Oh for Pete's sake…"

Madoka slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned.

Out of her kitchen window, she could see her beloved cat… Stuck in a tree.

"Bailey, how the hell am I going to get you down from there…"

Bailey's mouth was opening and closing. Madoka was sure that if she was inclined to open her window, she would hear him meowing.

"Daft idiot."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried to find a solution to the problem in front of her. Despite being relatively tall for a Japanese woman at five foot seven, there was no way she could reach her cat that high up in the tree.

Not without help.

But like hell was she going to call a firefighter out just to rescue her cat. That was just ridiculous.

"Stepladder…"

Madoka bustled through her flat and into her bedroom, she had a small stepladder in her closet. She retrieved it and opened it up.

"Ehh, sturdy enough," she muttered as she poked it with her foot.

She folded it, picked up her keys and departed from her flat to rescue her moronic cat.

Bailey's whining meows became louder as she approached.

"Yes, yes," she said to him, "I'm here. Give me a minute."

She set up the stepladder at the base of the tree and climbed the three steps to the top. Reaching up, Madoka attempted to coax Bailey closer.

"Come on, just jump down to this branch, I could help you down then…"

But Bailey sunk his claws into the tree and refused to move.

"I could just leave you there," Madoka muttered, glaring at her cat.

He meowed pitifully back at her.

"You have to help me out here…"

Bailey looked down at her with big brown eyes.

"Or not…"

Madoka climbed down the stepladder and reassessed the situation. She was almost a foot off from reaching Bailey. Somehow the idea of putting her stiletto heels on did not seem the best idea.

She needed a longer ladder.

Or…

A taller person.

"Wait here, Bailey."

As if he could go anywhere.

Madoka deserted her stepladder and ran back inside her apartment block. She trotted up the stairs and down the corridor on the first floor until she reached flat 6.5. In truth it was only the fifth flat, but the building number was six. Her own flat was 6.7, further down the corridor.

She knocked and waited.

No one answered.

Squinting at the door suspiciously, Madoka knocked again. She knew the owner of this flat lived alone and worked from home.

This time, someone answered.

That someone being a six foot four man dressed in a loose shirt and smart black trousers.

"Perfect," Madoka said, beaming. "I need your help."

The man glared at her with a single eye, the other being hidden by a sweep of dark hair.

"My cat is stuck in a tree and I can't reach him," she explained.

"Use a ladder."

"I did and I still can't reach. Please, he'll starve up there otherwise!"

It was a lie, Bailey was so fat that he would probably survive for at least a week.

"Fine."

The man ducked inside his flat and returned a moment later with shoes on his feet and keys, that he slipped into his pocket.

"I'm Madoka," she said.

"Lin."

"Nice to meet you, Lin," Madoka said, leading the way. "He's just out in the tree beside the block."

Lin followed wordlessly until they stood beside the tree.

Bailey renewed his meowing.

"Hello, Bailey," Madoka said in a soft voice. "This is Lin, he's going to help you." She turned to Lin and indicated the stepladder. "You can use that, if it helps."

Lin looked up the tree and then down at the ladder. He sighed, then stepped forwards and climbed up.

His hands reached where Madoka's could not.

"You said his name was Bailey?" Lin asked over his shoulder to Madoka.

"Yeah. Like Baileys Irish Cream."

"I made the connection."

Lin turned back to look at the cat. His fingers were mere inches away from the cat, who seemed reluctant to move.

"Bailey," he murmured, "Come here."

Madoka watched with her breath held as her cat slowly inched closer to Lin.

Then Bailey pounced onto Lin's head.

Lin had very little purchase on the step ladder as his feet were considerably bigger than Madoka's. He also had only one hand on the tree, as the other had reached towards Bailey's position on the branch.

These two facts, in conjunction with Bailey's flying leap onto his head, resulted in Lin toppling.

He fell off of the stepladder and landed with a squelch on the muddy grass.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Madoka rushed to his side.

Bailey had climbed onto Lin's chest and curled up reading to take a nap.

Lin groaned.

"I'm fine."

"Here, let me help you. Bailey, get off him."

Madoka scooped Bailey into her arms and helped to pull Lin to his feet. Lin staggered a little and clutched the back of his head.

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I should check that out."

"I'm fine," Lin repeated, but Madoka ignored him.

She plonked Bailey on her shoulder, picked up the stepladder in one hand and helped Lin with her other arm. Slowly, they made their way back to her flat and she let them all in.

Bailey jumped down and ran straight for his food. Madoka propped the stepladder against a wall and then lowered Lin onto her sofa.

"But the mud," he muttered, indicating his dirty clothing.

"It's fine, I have the throw on there for Bailey's hair anyway. It needs a wash." Madoka retrieved her first aid kit from the cupboard under the sink. "Unless you want to take them off."

Lin did not deign to answer.

"Now where does it hurt?"

Lin paused as if he was going to argue, then indicated a point on the back of his head.

Madoka parted his hair and searched for any injury.

"I can't see any blood, so I think it might just be bruising. Your hair is very soft."

Lin did not speak.

"Did Bailey scratch you at all?"

Lin shook his head, then groaned.

"Just stay still," Madoka advised. "I'll get you a drink. Tea? Coffee? Water? I might even have some juice if you want?"

"Tea, no sugar, no milk."

"No sugar? Really?" Madoka tutted as she put the kettle on. "Though I suppose you're sweet enough."

Lin raised an eyebrow at her.

"You helped a damsel in distress rescue her cat," Madoka said, smiling. "I think that makes you quite sweet!"

Madoka found two clean mugs, two tea bags and spooned several sugars into her own cup.

Bailey meowed at Madoka and pushed the now empty food bowl towards her feet.

"No, you've eaten enough you daft animal. What were you even doing up there?"

Bailey meowed again.

"The birds are faster than you are," Madoka answered. "Maybe if you lost some weight, you might be able to catch one."

Bailey hissed and turned, tail in the air. He stalked away from Madoka for a few moments, before looking around to see if his human had followed to beg forgiveness. When he saw that she had not, he continued walking away in search of sympathy elsewhere.

Elsewhere turned out to be Lin. Bailey jumped up and settled on Lin's lap. He meowed at his new favourite human until said human began stroking his head.

"He likes you," Madoka commented.

"I think he is just trying to make you jealous," Lin replied.

Madoka laughed and poured boiling water into the mugs.

"Yeah, as if I don't give him enough attention…"

Bailey's purring filled the air.

"Traitor," Madoka muttered.

She deposited the two mugs of tea on the coffee table and glared at her cat for a moment. Then she turned to her guest with a thought of making conversation.

"How is your head feeling?"

"Better, I apologise for this inconvenience."

"Oh! Not at all," Madoka said. "I cannot thank you enough for helping me rescue this daft cat! I would hate to call the fire service out just for him."

"He is very friendly."

"Idiotic more like," Madoka muttered.

Bailey hissed at Madoka, then nuzzled into Lin's stomach.

"I'm sorry about your clothes," Madoka went on, ignoring her cat's behaviour. "I will have them cleaned if you leave them with me."

Lin's visible eye widened.

"Well━"

"Oh! No I mean, give them to me later, unless you want to strip them off now! Not that you would!"

Madoka fell silent and hastily picked up her mug. She took a sip of the burning liquid and winced as it hit her tongue.

"I will clean them myself," Lin said.

"Okay," Madoka agreed, too mortified to say anything else.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, occasionally sipping at their drinks and listening to Bailey's purring.

"I should probably leave," Lin said finally.

He put the mug on the coffee table and made to stand up. Bailey hissed at him and Lin stopped moving.

"He doesn't want you to leave, huh," Madoka commented. "I'm sorry, let me get him off you."

Madoka leant closer and tried to pry Bailey off of Lin. Bailey had other ideas about this, though. He took a swipe at Madoka.

"Ouch! You little━" Madoka cut herself off so that she did not swear in front of her guest.

"Are you okay?" Lin asked.

"No, the little sod cut me," Madoka muttered. "Sorry, I'm just going to run this under some water."

Madoka abandoned Lin to Bailey's clutches and walked to the sink to clean the bleeding cut.

Lin managed to peel Bailey off of himself and picked up the first aid kit that Madoka had previously left next to him.

"Let me," he said.

Madoka relented and allowed Lin to clean and dress her wound.

"Maybe you should have nursed yourself before," she mumbled. "You're doing a better job of playing doctors than I did…"

Lin did not say anything as he finished applying a plaster to the back of her hand.

"Though I'm not sure you'd look as good in a nurse's outfit…"

Madoka mentally slapped herself. Here she was with an attractive man in her kitchen, who rescued her cat and is dressing her wounds, and she was suggesting dressing up as a nurse.

Who did that?

Madoka, apparently.

"I don't think I would," Lin said in a low voice as he finished. "I prefer to be in leather anyway."

Madoka blinked twice before she realised exactly what Lin had just said.

Her mouth fell open as Lin also realised what he had said.

"I should leave."

Madoka could not bring herself to speak.

Lin nodded, turned and strode to the door.

"Thank you for the tea, I'm glad your cat is okay."

He left and closed the door behind him. Madoka let out a burst of laughter as Bailey wrapped himself around her legs, everything seemingly forgiven.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

He meowed in response, giving her no clue at all.

* * *

Two days later found Lin searching for socks in his drawer. Yet he could only find a lone black sock. Considering he had done his washing two days prior after the falling in the mud incident.

Because that had obviously been the most embarrassing part of that day. Not.

Frowning, Lin turned around and tried to figure where else he might have put his socks by accident.

Then he heard a knock on the front door. Sighing, Lin went to answer it barefoot.

"Hi."

It was Madoka.

Lin tried to force the memory of their last encounter to the back of his mind, rather unsuccessfully.

"Hello."

"Um, I think Bailey has been causing trouble," she mumbled, staring at her own shoes with a pink tinge in her cheeks that almost matched her hair.

"Is he stuck in another tree?" Lin asked.

"No, not like that. Um…"

She pulled a carrier bag from behind her back and pushed it into Lin's hands. He frowned at her before looking down into the bag. It was full of his socks and… His underwear.

"I found them in my washing," Madoka admitted. "I think he must have stolen them and you're the only other person in this apartment block that he really knows."

"We met once."

"He liked you."

"I see."

"Well, I should go, sorry about that. I'll scold him later," Madoka said, turning to leave. Then she stopped, screwed up her eyes momentarily and turned back to Lin. "Unless you'd like to get dinner? Together?"

Lin was taken aback.

"Only if you want to," Madoka went on.

"Okay," Lin agreed.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow, okay, great!" Madoka beamed. She scribbled something on a scrap of paper from her pocket. "Here let me give you my number."

"Thanks," Lin said, taking it from her.

"Just, text me when you're free."

"Will do."

Madoka flashed him one last smile before walking away.

"I can't wait to hear more about the leather," she called over her shoulder.

Lin spluttered and dropped the bag of socks.

* * *

 **Author's note: So I finished Nanowrimo on Monday and have sort of crashed on writing since! If you want to read my Nanowrimo story, look for the story entitled 'Different Things', it is M rated and it deserves that rating, so be warned!**

 **Last night I decided I wanted to write some fluff and so here we go... It's not hugely fluffy, but Bailey is a minor character in Different Things and he did not get enough air time in my humble opinion. So I have given him his own one shot! This is not canon to Different Things, but hey ho. It is my own little headcanon that Madoka now has a cat.**

 **I'll shut up now.**

 **Please review :)**


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